Alvarez, Fariñas want Marines to be a separate service branch

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas have filed a bill seeking to institutionalize the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) as a distinct and autonomous arm of the military.

House Bill No. 7304, or the Philippine Marine Corps Act, proposes to establish the PMC — currently under the Navy’s command — as an independent branch of service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The PMC would be “amphibious in character” and would be composed of ground combat, combat support, combat service support, aviation component and other necessary units.

It would also deploy forces for the AFP’s disaster relief and response efforts, as well as support law enforcement agencies.

The bill would mandate the establishment of one PMC headquarters each in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, with the Mindanao command serving as the national headquarters.

Alvarez and Fariñas stated in their explanatory note that the PMC’s lack of a charter “has caused institutional challenges, including but not limited to fiscal and organizational restrictions.”

The Commission on Appointments on March 6 confirmed the appointment of Alvarez and Fariñas to the rank of colonel in the AFP reserve force. —Vince F. Nonato